JEDDAH, 12 November 2007 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah returned to Riyadh yesterday at the conclusion of a successful six-nation tour, which saw the signing of several vital accords with Britain, Italy, Germany and Turkey and a historic meeting with Pope Benedict XVI.
The king held two rounds of talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo. The talks, according to presidential spokesman Suleiman Awad, focused on the Middle East peace conference called by US President George W. Bush as well as the situation in Iraq and Lebanon.
Saudi Arabia and Egypt are hopeful that the peace conference, which is scheduled to be held in Annapolis, Maryland later this month will bring about a just and lasting peace, closing the file on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, ending the occupation and restoring the rights of Palestinians, he said.
In a statement after talks between King Abdullah and Mubarak on Saturday night, Awad said the two countries fervently hoped the upcoming conference would succeed. “Its success will be in the interest of the region’s peace, security and stability,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted the presidential spokesman as saying. He said the US had not yet sent invitations to any participating country.
“Our stance on the conference is very clear. We welcome this meeting which is being held several years after the freezing of the peace process.” However, the two countries insisted that the conference should set a time frame for serious negotiations on core issues, opening the way for dealing with other tracks of the peace process including the issue of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
Awad emphasized the intent of both Saudi Arabia and Egypt to acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, adding that the plan was in line with a decision taken by the last Arab League summit in Riyadh. “Strengthening Arab capabilities for peaceful use of nuclear energy is an Arab decision and several contacts have taken place on this matter since the Riyadh summit.”
Awad said the roles of Saudi Arabia and Egypt were complementary to each other and would serve Arab interests and issues. “Egypt is working to restart dialogue between Fatah and Hamas and has strongly rejected the siege of Gaza as it would lead to a human catastrophe,” he said.
In a related development, Egyptian Trade and Industry Minister Rasheed Mohammed Rasheed said the king’s two-day state visit to Cairo would boost relations in all areas. “King Abdullah and President Mubarak give utmost importance to strengthening our strategic relations. We also work for the economic integration of the two countries, setting a model for other Arab countries,” Rasheed said.
He emphasized the Egyptian government’s desire to encourage Saudi and Egyptian investors to establish projects in both countries. “We have established an investment unit in the Kingdom to highlight opportunities in Egypt and provide assistance to Saudi companies willing to invest in our country.”
Rasheed said the last meeting of the Saudi-Egyptian Business Council had agreed to establish a joint company with a capital of 500 million Egyptian pounds to support joint ventures. A number of Saudi companies are now planning to establish new projects in industry, agricultural, petrochemicals, textiles and hotel industry.
On arrival at Riyadh airport, King Abdullah was greeted by Crown Prince Sultan, and other senior princes and officials including Prince Badr, deputy commander of the National Guard, Interior Minister Prince Naif and Riyadh Gov. Prince Salman.
